There is a Japanese saying: The elbow does not bend outward. It is a smart saying. The 
freedom of the elbow, the wonderfulness of the elbow, is precisely because of its limitations. This is our awakened attitude. We are free to be completely human. We are not free to be aliens or cartoon creatures. We are free to be ourselves, with all of our imperfections and bruises.
Jason Shulman, The Instruction Manual for Receiving God
If you send out goodness from yourself, or if you share that which is happy or good 
within you, it will all come back to you multiplied ten thousand times. In the kingdom of love there is no competition; there is no possessiveness or control. The more love you give away, the more love you will have.
John O’Donoghue
As I said in the previous related post, the first step in dealing with negative thoughts is 
simply to notice thoughts in general, as mental events that arise and pass away, almost continually. We saw that we can develop the capacity to be aware of what is happening in our lives, by doing the simple exercise of awareness of the breath entering and leaving the body. However, what we quickly notice is often we are too busy thinking about what is happening, preferring that as a way of relating to life.
Still, let us persevere. The more we strengthen this, wider-than-thinking, capacity for awareness, the more we come to understand that thoughts, assumptions and beliefs are mental events and processes rather than reflections of objective truth. In other words,we begin to see the thoughts as passing through the mind, almost like clouds passing accross a clear blue sky. We begin to realize that thoughts are not as solid as we may think they are. We see them simply as thoughts, not necessarily true reflections of reality, and we do not need to follow them. Nor do we identify with them, but rather we try to create a space around the thought and stay there, observing it in silence and without analyzing it, judging it or interfering in any way.
To do this, we can try a second simple practice. We sit and become aware of our breathing. Then we imagine our mind to be the clear blue sky, spacious and bright. As thoughts come, which they inevitably will, we imagine them as clouds passing through the sky. Some are heavy, some are light, but we identify with the sky, not with the clouds. This is the second step in working with negative thoughts, simply noticing that thoughts arise, touching them lightly as if they are clouds, and letting them go.
We are accustomed to identifying with every large or small thought that comes along. But you can train in identifying as the sky instead. When you do, tremendous confidence arises. You see beyond doubt that you can accommodate it all —sunshine, storms, mist, fog, hail —and never give up.
Susan Piver
Happiness is not a place that is found outside of where we are right now.
If you wanted to find a perfect get-away from all your stress and unhappiness, where and how far would you go? To the other side of the world, to the International Space Station, or just the nearest bar? Your body would be somewhere else, but still, you would be taking your stressed, unhappy mind with you
Thich Nhat Hahn
The first three pillars of the MBSR Programme are awareness of the body, awareness of emotions and awareness of thoughts. All of these need to work together in harmony for us to have a healthy and positive life.
The first pillar is awareness of the body, both in the way stress manifests itself in the body and how a healthy lifestyle requires a healthy body. One way this is cultivated in the MBSR programme is through Mindful Yoga exercises.
The importance of physical fitness for the mind has been supported in a recent study by Laura Baker and her colleagues at the University of Washington, published in the Archives of Neurology. It found that older adults who engaged in regular exercise showed improved concentration and multi-tasking skills. Another study, this time conducted by Charles Hillman PhD, published in journal of the American College of Sports Medicine, showed that a 30 minute aerobic workout significantly improved the accuracy of memory on administered tests. Finally, a recent Duke University study found that middle-aged participants who worked out for 30 minutes, three to four times a week, showed a 30% improvement in mental function after 4 months. As Dr Hillman states: “Data shows that getting regular exercise over time can increase both gray and white matter in the brain and make a huge difference in how well you process and track information, stay on task and allocate your mental resources”
Laura D. Baker, PhD, et al., Effects of Aerobic Exercise on Mild Cognitive Impairment : A Controlled Trial, Arch Neurol. 2010;67(1):71-79.
We often ask, “What’s wrong?” Doing so we invite painful seeds of sorrow to come up and manifest. We feel suffering, anger and depression and produce more such seeds. We would be much happier if we tried to stay in touch with the healthy, joyful seeds inside of us and around us. We should learn to ask “What is not wrong?” and be in touch with that”.
Thich Nhat Hahn, Peace is Every Step
Mindfulbalance 